Baylor, Notre Dame battle for spot in Final Four

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame have been on a journey all season to get back to the Final Four.

They've met every challenge, running through the season unbeaten.

With a victory over Baylor tonight, the Irish, led by Villa Maria graduate Kayla McBride, will join a select group of schools to make four straight Final Fours.

Only UConn, LSU, Stanford, Louisiana Tech and Tennessee have accomplished that feat.

"If that happens that would be a great thing for our program," McGraw said. "It sets us apart from others. Having Skylar (Diggins) lead us to three was fun, but now to have a different team to do that. It's a really great thing for our program."

Standing in the way is a young Baylor team led by senior guard Odyssey Sims. Coach Kim Mulkey didn't know what to expect from her team which lost two-time AP Player of the Year Brittney Griner and four other seniors. Sims, who helped guide Baylor to a national title and 40-0 season as a sophomore, would love to get them to Nashville.

"It would mean a lot, seeing all year nobody expected us to be here" Sims said. "This team has grown faster than all of us really expected. The freshmen came a long way and stepped up to the plate. They learned their role and are giving us a lot of production. It would feel unbelievable."

But now the Lady Bears are back in the regional final for the fourth time in five seasons.

They return a year after the team was eliminated in the regional semifinals by Louisville in one of the biggest upsets in women's basketball history.

Mulkey knows it will be a tall task for her team to knock off the Irish at home. A place where they have won 27 straight games with the last loss coming against Baylor on Dec. 5, 2012.

"We don't embrace it, we have no choice," Mulkey said.

The Lady Bears should enter the game with some confidence.

Baylor is 4-0 all-time against Notre Dame and is one of only two schools that Muffet McGraw never has beaten.

All four contests have come in the past few years, including a victory in the 2012 NCAA championship game.

"We don't have a 6-foot-8monster in the paint that gave us an advantage," Sims said. "It will be a grind out game, very physical, they have great guards who can shoot 3s, take you off the dribble. We got to play hard and hopefully come out with the 'W.' "

Baylor will have to extend that streak on the Irish's home court, which is no small task.

Notre Dame has gone 77-5 at Purcell Pavilion over the past five seasons, including their current 27-game winning streak.

However, it should be a high-scoring game.

No game in the NCAA tournament has had two teams so prolific at offense.

Notre Dame ranks second in scoring (86.8) while Baylor is third (84.0).

"We like to play uptempo and the fans like to enjoy a lot of offense," McGraw said. "Certainly there will be a lot of shots. I think it will be a fun uptempo game."